


Discussions by the Fire

by DarthSuki



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Religion, Scripture References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 23:03:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15761529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthSuki/pseuds/DarthSuki
Summary: Joshua and you (Courier Six) have a soft conversation about scripture and philosophy by the fire and beneath a beautiful, starlit sky.





	Discussions by the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for and with the support of fans on my Fallout writing blog! If you'd like to submit a request or check out my drabble and headcanon writing, [go over there and check it out!](https://falloutwritings.tumblr.com/)

Despite the fact that your introduction to Zion Canyon had been one of accident and slight misfortune, you had slowly came to think of it as a home. The Mojave had a way with sucking the life and hope out of people, to leave them an empty husk of themselves if they didn’t keep a firm hand on things; even then, there was something to be said about the effects of all the depravity and sin that could be found in New Vegas’ borders.

Zion was, in all ways, a blessing. It wasn’t a perfect place (such a thing didn’t exist), but its corners were filled with fresh greenery and flourishing wildlife many times over what the empty desert. It had a sense of safety, of life, of hope--

And it had Joshua Graham.

He was a mystery in as much capacity as he was your friend, someone you could sit beside in front of a fire and talk to for hours, scrabbling at one another’s thoughts and philosophies until they were picked clean or one of you fell into the clutches of sleep (which was typically you). 

Graham was a man who you could approach with no prior plan of your arrival, with no warning, no heed--you could lay your bag by his feet and stare up at him with your tired eyes and dirty face and he would say, “Welcome back, Courier.”

Trust and unconditional hospitality was a very rare thing nowadays, all across the Mojave and the rest of the wasteland of the old world. That must have been what made you love the man all the more--you weren’t sure if he caught onto that adoration or not, his friendship and kindness was always moe than enough for you.

* * *

 

“ _Thus saith the Lord,” Joshua’s gentle voice rumbled lowly around the air of the fire. “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord._ ”

“So...Don’t trust anyone, got it.”

You turned your face just in time to see your fireside companion side-eye you, though there was little more than mild amusement in his eyes. He turned his gaze back to the book in his hand, but you had a hunch that he’d hardly need to read the verses directly from the old religious text.

“It’s more than simply that,” Joshua said, then continuing with the verse. “ _For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not_ inhabited--”

You saw his eyes gently flicker towards you once more as he took in a slow breath.

“-- _Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.”_

He closed the old, leather-bound book. There was something satisfying about the way it sound as it closed, a low, gentle  _thump_  as the pages came together. Or maybe it was because Joshua was holding it. Or because he was looking at you, searching for your feedback on what he had read, as was somewhat typical in your last few nights of conversation.

“...It sounds like it’s asking a lot,” Your voice spills softly from your lips as you’re able to meet his eyes, those smoldering, experience-worn eyes that watch you speak. “I mean. How can you trust  _anyone_  in a world like this?”

“You speak with the experience of one who has seen the sins of man many times over, and I can’t disagree with the notion.”

It was then that you decided to look up, up at the endless night sky. It’s so clear from Zion, with the stars so clearly visible, so bright--it’s almost as if you could reach up and grab one in your hand, hold it close and make a wish.

It makes you want to memorize the moment.

“It sounds a lot like love to me,” You whisper after a moment, still looking up at the sky.

“How so?” Joshua says, gently encouraging you for an explanation. He probably understood your meaning, your interpretation of the scripture, but the man always seemed curious to hear your own words--for a man who liked to speak his thoughts, he very much loved to hear yours.

“Love-- unconditional love, I mean, it’s...” It was hard to find the right words to match your thoughts. “You give  _everything_  to a person and trust that they’ll love you back and take care of you. They’re just....your whole life. The world may be shit, complete and utter shit, but they...make you happy. You trust them--they’re not perfect, sometimes you’ll fight, but you want them to be happy--they make you happy.”

You close your eyes and hear your companion hum, let out a low sigh after a few moments and then, finally, you turn your face to catch his gaze.

“You know,” he starts gently. “From the way you speak, you seem to be familiar with scripture.”

“A little,” you admit, voice soft as the breeze across your cheek. A thought creeps into your mind after a moment, and in a breath you’re rifling through your bag; it takes a minute to find what you’re looking for, and eventually produce a small, leather-bound book that looks very similar to the one that Joshua himself held in his hand. 

You held it out for him to take, and he did with a certain gingerness to his motions.

As the man carefully looked it over, you couldn’t help but feel a little proud as you saw the slightest shift in his expression (even if the only visible part of his face were those piercing eyes). He looked....surprised? Proud? Perhaps a mixture of both, glancing over the mostly untarnished cover. His thumb briefly smoothed over the golden-lettered title.

“I found it while I was scavenging some buildings in an old town. It....reminded me of you, so I kept it.”

Joshua brushed his thumb over it again.

“Have you been reading it?” He says. His voice is soft, sweet almost, more curiosity than anything else spurring the words from his mouth.

“A little bit--there’s a lot of it that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but sometimes I do.” You move yourself closer to the man, if only to see the way he almost reverently looks over the old book. 

It didn’t take a genius while you were scavenging to realize the value in a mostly-intact book, and it certainly doesn’t take the same to see the care in how Joshua holds it--it’s like finding a jewel when you’re surrounded by ash. 

“I think I even have a favorite line out of everything I  _have_  read from in there.”

“Oh?” Sharp eyes turn your way from your words, and there’s a moment of gentle pride in your chest.

“If I--If I remember correctly, it goes like....  _I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life, freely.”_

Joshua seemed to think over those words for a while. He was silent, but not the kind that made you fear for judgement or harsh words to follow; he was....thoughtful, all the while gazing over you as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.

You felt heat blossom on your cheeks and, hurriedly, tried to explain yourself.

“I don’t--I don’t know more than I’ve ever experienced in the Mojave, but--but if there’s something bigger than ourselves out there...I like to think that they’re kind. 

Kindness is something we need--everyone’s so sure that everyone’s out to kill one another or steal their caps that....it’s a hope to think there’s a power out there that’s making up for all of that, taking care of people....you know?”

Joshua was silent for just a few moments more. He looked at you with careful eyes, but underneath the bandages that covered his mouth, you could have sworn, and sworn on your life, there was a smile on his lips.

“Sometimes I wonder what I did right to know a person like you in my life, courier.”


End file.
